1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electronic game processing. A particular example involves the control of video game processing operations, but the invention has more general application to other types of electronic game processing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a conventional video games machine, a user views the game on a video monitor or television screen, and controls operation of the game using a hand-held keypad or joystick. With some games machines such as the Sony® PlayStation® 2 machine, a handheld controller provides two joysticks and several user-operated keys, along with a vibrating element to provide tactile feedback to the user of events occurring within the game.
Some games require the user to carry out certain actions in response to an indication (e.g. on a display) of a target action. The user is judged on the accuracy of his response to the target actions. For example, the system might test whether the user carried out the correct action, or whether the user carried out the action at the correct time. An example of such a game is a so-called karaoke game, in which the user is presented with a series of words to be sung to form a song. A backing track for the song is played on a loudspeaker and the user sings along into a microphone. The user may be judged on (for example) the pitch and timing of his singing.